WW II Resources

bigpigeon.us webpage Home > Resources - WW II > WW II Free Sites, updated by RAC 30 Jun 2021.

Pottawattamie County, Iowa Area WW II Dead - Free Websites Webpage Overview:

• These publicly-available web resources were used in building the WW II - Japan & WW II - Germany webareas. 
• See also WW II Personnel Lists, used to build the Pottawattamie Area WW II Dead roster, and WW II Pay Websites.
• I have divided webpage content into eleven sections, as indicated by the numbered arrows.

Some cautions about the resources cited below:

• Databases may be incomplete.
• Some resources include periods other than WW II or material for other countries.
• These are the resources I use; I have barely scratched the surface of what is available on-line.

==> 1 - WW II History - Portals/Catalogs/Libraries:

• https://history.army.mil/index.html - US Army Center for Military History (CMH) website.
• https://history.army.mil/catalog/browse/title.html - US Army CMH publications catalog.
• https://history.army.mil/catalog/browse/pubnum.html#72 - ~ 40 US Army CMH WW II campaign pamphlets.
• http://tothosewhoserved.org/usa/ -  official WW II military histories, including many CMH publications.​
• http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/ - Hyperwar - A HyperText History of the Second World War - a vast WW II web library.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:World_War_II - Wikipedia's portal into its WW II webarea.
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_World_War_II - incomplete list of WW II timelines.

==> 2 - WW II History - Statistics, Summaries, and Timelines & Chronologies.

WW II history - US statistics:

• https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-us-military-numbers - basic WW II US military statistics from the National World War II Museum.
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battles_with_most_United_States_military_fatalities - US battles in order of fatalities (there are some errors and omissions).
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maritime_disasters_in_World_War_II - arranged by number of deaths.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_sunk_by_submarines_by_death_toll - incomplete. 
• https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/u/us-navy-personnel-in-world-war-ii-service-and-casualty-statistics.html - Naval History & Heritage Command's US Navy in WW II Service & Casualty Statistics.

Commentary - WW II history - US statistics:

• These sources contain overall data, no information about individuals.

WW II history - summaries:

• https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/09/world/world-war-ii-fast-facts - some statistics and a short summary.
• https://malwarwickonbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/7misconceptionsaboutwwii_compressed.pdf - corrects common misconceptions about WW II.
• www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii 
• http://www.abmc.gov/sites/default/files/interactive/interactive_files/WW2/index.html - an interactive summary from the American Battle Monuments Commission.
• https://www.onwar.com/wwii/maps - nice collection of easy-to-read maps, each with a brief summary of that particular facet of WW II.
• historyofwar.com - British website, not specific to WW II.

WW II history - timelines & chronologies - both War with Japan & War with Germany:

• http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm - Germany & Japan.
• http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/pacificwar/timeline.htm - War with Japan.
• https://www.onwar.com/wwii/chronology/index.html - all aspects of WW II arranged by month.
• https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-SS-Chronology/index.html#index - US Army in WW II.
• https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron.html - The Official Chronology of the US Navy in World War II.

​Commentary - WW II history - timelines and chronologies:

• The above chronologies are long but are good research tools.

==> 3 - WW II history - US Army.

Official WW II US Army Orders of Battle and Combat Chronicles - both War with Japan & War with Germany:

• https://archive.org/details/OrderOfBattleUsArmyEtoWw2/page/n2/mode/2up - Order of Battle of the United States Army Ground Fources in World War II, European Theater of Operations, 1945 (586 pages). 
• https://history.army.mil/documents/ETO-OB/ETOOB-TOC.htm - Order of Battle for ETO divisions, the first portion of the above document.
• https://ia802700.us.archive.org/2/items/OrderOfBattleUsArmyPtoWw2/OrderOfBattleUsArmyPtoWw2.pdf - Order of Battle of the United States Army Ground Forces in World War II, Pacific Theater of Operations, 1945  (697 pages).
• https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cbtchron.html - brief Combat Chronicles for US Army divisions in WW II.

Commentary - Orders of Battle and Combat Chronicles:

• These sources are for divisions only; stand-alone regimental or battalion units are excluded except when attached to divisions.
• Because of their length, expect sources to load slowly.
• I can't find an Order of Battle document for the Mediterranean Theater.
• I found the divisional combat chronicles too brief to be of major use; perhaps eventually after-action reports will fill in the gap.

Some WW II US Army private databases:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Corps_of_the_United_States_in_World_War_II - brief histories, some incomplete, of WW II corps in the Army and Marine Corps. 
• https://www.armydivs.com - campaigns in which each army division was involved. Scroll down for charts, initially confusing but worth understanding for someone with strong interests.
• https://www.unithistories.com - interesting but fragmentary material.

==> 4 - WW II history - US Army Air Force. (I use both USAAF and AAF as abbreviations.)

WW II US Army Air Force databases:

• https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf - AAF WW II combat units.
• http://usafunithistory.com/index.html - AAF Unit Histories - good!
• https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp - locating missing aircraft.
• http://accident-report.com/usaf.html - AAF accident reports (Feb 1943 - Nov 1945 missing as of Mar 2021).
• aviation-safety.net/database/ - Aviation Safety Network Safety Database of aircraft accident reports.
• http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html - WW II AAF aircraft losses, indexed by tail number.

Specific to the Eighth & Ninth Air Forces in England:

• http://www.americanairmuseum.com - American Air Museum, Duxford, near Cambridge, England.
• http://www.8thafhs.org - Eighth Air Force Historical Society.
• http://www.8thafhs.com/tomt.php - Eighth Air Force databases, Groups, Bases, Targets, Missions.
• http://www.8thafhs.com/search.php - search multiple databases (not sure if it works correctly).
• https://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/publication/ee-eet/cms/pdf/information-sheets/USAAF%20Airfields%20Guide%20and%20Map.pdf - Eighth Air Force bases in England - nice map.
• http://www.303rdbg.com/h-england-map.html - Eighth Air Force units in England with their bases.

==> 5 - WW II history - US Navy.

WW II US Navy databases:

• http://www.navsource.org - NavSource Naval History home page -  information on most ships, many photos.
• http://www.navsource.org/Naval/losses.htm#bb - WW II US Navy losses.
• www.navsource.org/Naval/ - from links near the bottom of the webpage, you can access a detailed Navy chronology for each year of WW II.
• https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_December_1941 - includes ships damaged at Pearl Harbor; links at the very end allow access to other monthly lists for WW II.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_losses_in_World_War _II - by ship category.
• http://www.usmm.org/shipsunkdamaged.html - access lists of US merchant ships lost in WW II
• http://www.oneternalpatrol.com - WW II Submarine Service ship information.
• http://rwebs.net/avhistory/acdesig/usnsqdrn.htm - Naval Aviation squadron prefices (e.g., VSB).

==> 6 - WW II history - War with Japan.

• www.pacificwrecks.com - Aspects of WW II in the Pacific theaters, ships and planes.
• http://combinedfleet.com/battles/Guadalcanal_Campaign#top - probably translation from Japanese.
• http://www.cbi-history.com - China-Burma-India Theater Order of Battle, both Army & AAF.

==> 7 - WW II History - War with Germany.

US Army - War with Germany:

• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Flusssystemkarte_Rhein_04.jpg - high-resolution map of the Rhine River basin.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_advance_from_Paris_to_the_Rhine - ETO summary from late Aug 1944 to late Mar 1945. Few maps.
• http://home.scarlet.be/~sh446368/home.html - The Battle for the Hürtgen Forest.

The Third Army's February 1945 Sauer River crossings into Germany:

• https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a163876.pdf - Assault Across the Sauer, from the Combat Studies Institute (CSI), the 80th Inf. Div. Sauer River crossing in Feb 1945. Three roster members died. (slow to load)
• https://mcoepublic.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/library/DonovanPapers/wwii/STUP2/A-F/DiesFrederick%20W.%20LTC.pdf - OPERATIONS OF THE 5TH INFANTRY DIVISION IN THE CROSSING OF THE SAUER RIVER 6-13 FEBRUARY 1945.
• https://www.80thdivision.com/WebArchives/AAReports.html - access the 80th Inf. Div. After Action Reports.
• https://www.80thdivision.com/AfterActionReports/80th_LossesInAction_Murrell.pdf - 80th Inf. Div. casualties by month.

Commentary - the February 1945 Sauer River crossings:

• I included these links because I am trying to determine if deaths in the February crossings over the swollen Saar River were underreported.

US Navy - War with Germany:

• https://uboat.net - WW I & II German submarine information.
• https://www.uboat-bases.com/en/ - U-Boat Bases of the Second World War in France. ​

WW II German POW Camps:
https://military.wikia.org/wiki/List_of_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_Germany#World_War_II_POW_Camps - 

==> 8 - WW II aircraft web resources:
WW II US aircraft:

• https://pearlharborwarbirds.com/world-war-2-fighter-planes-aircrafts/ - about 25 common US WW II models.
• https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/ww2-us-military-aircraft.asp - 217 mostly-US mostly- WW II models.
• http://www.aircraftaces.com/ww2-aircraft-usa.htm - specs for 31 US WW II aircraft listed by manufacturer.

WW II US aircraft production:

• http://acepilots.com/planes/factory.html - WW II aircraft mainframe manufacturers.
• https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_States_aircraft_production_during_World_War_II - WW II aircraft production by category and by end user.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-produced_aircraft - worldwide list since 1903 of aircraft with production runs over 5,000.

Museums, real and virtual:

• https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/WWII-Gallery/ - National Museum of the USAF, Dayton, OH WW II holdings.

• https://www.airplanemuseums.com/list-of-air-museums-exhibits-airparks.htm - partial list of US air museums.
• https://www.airplanes-online.com​ - airplanes of WW II, the Cold War, and Modern Times.

Aircraft classification and identification:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924_United_States_Army_Air_Service_aircraft_designation_system - 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1922_United_States_Navy_aircraft_designation_system

==> 9 - WW II ships web resources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Shipbuilding_Program - well-written article about WW II emergency construction of cargo ships in the USS.

==> 10 - WW II Iowa-specific web resources:

• https://worldwartwoveterans.org/national-guard-of-the-state-of-iowa-1938/ - 1938 Iowa National Guard yearbook.

Commentary - WW II Iowa-specific web resources:

• ​See the WW II - Personnel Lists webpage for the Iowa National Guard roster at time of induction in early 1941.

==> 11 - Sources for my WW II Roster Photos webpage (very incompete):

• https://www.ww2online.org/browse - Accesses photo library of the National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA.